As part of the Common Travel Area (CTA) arrangements, the UK does not operate routine immigration controls on journeys from Ireland to the UK, with no immigration checks being undertaken on the Ireland-Northern Ireland land border.

The UK does however carry out intelligence-led operations to target potential abuse of CTA routes, including between Ireland and Northern Ireland but away from the land border. This is to detect those who intend to abuse CTA arrangements. Operational activity is intelligence led and focussed on abuse of the CTA by criminals.

There is a high level of cooperation between multiple law enforcement agencies, including Border Force, Immigration Enforcement, NCA and Police forces to achieve this. We regularly monitor and review any identified trends and we work closely with our colleagues in Ireland in taking action to address this.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to questions 71052, 71053 and 71054 on 4^th September.

Statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as the quality and availability of data. These reviews allow us to balance the production of our regular statistics while developing new statistics for future release.

We do not routinely publish the information you have requested, and we are unable to provide this information, as it could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

No migrants were given payments to return to France under the Treaty.

We do not routinely publish the information you have requested, and we are unable to provide this information, as it could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

A full evaluation of the pilot will be completed after its conclusion in June 2026. We will not provide regular updates on ongoing operations, as this involves sensitive information that could prove valuable to the organised immigration crime gangs that are behind small boats crossings.

Irregular migration data, which includes figures for clandestine detections at UK ports, is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables#irregular-migration.

The Home Office does not disclose statistics regarding the specific vehicle involved in these detections.

As of 20 October, 42 returns have taken place under the exchange agreement. Anyone who re-enters illegally may face immediate detention and, where appropriate, we will seek to expedite removal. This will not count as a new removal in the reciprocal scheme.

We continue close cooperation with France to strengthen border security and disrupt criminal gangs.

We do not hold or commission estimates of the number of individuals who may have entered the UK illegally using forged passports or visas over the last five years.

However, the Home Office does publish statistics on irregular migration, which include data on Inadequately Documented Arrivals (IDAs). IDAs refer to passengers arriving in the UK by air who are either undocumented, travelling with fraudulent documents, or without the correct documentation required for travel or entry.

This data can be found here: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.

The requested data is not held by the Home Office.

Home Office ministers and officials speak with overseas counterparts on a regular basis on a wide range of issues, including representatives of the European Commission.

We work to prevent individuals from making financial gains as a result of their criminal activities and will seek to seize such assets where possible; to this end, section 24 of the UK Borders Act 2007 (which came into force on 1 July 2010) gives immigration officers the specific power to seize cash from offenders, bringing them into line with police officers in this respect.

The requested information is not available from published statistics and could only be collated for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

This Government pledged to deliver the highest rate of removals since 2018 and this target has been surpassed, with a surge in returns activity since the election leading to almost 30,000 people with no right to be in the UK being removed.

Of the total returns since 5 July 2024, 4,436 were of foreign national offenders (FNOs). This is an increase of 14% compared to the 3,879 FNO returns in the same period 12 months prior.

Work is currently underway to publish more detailed information on FNOs subject to deportation. Further information on this work can be found at: Statistics on foreign national offenders and the immigration system - GOV.UK.

Under existing legislation, an individual convicted of a particularly serious crime, resulting in a custodial sentence of 12 months or more, and who is considered a danger to the UK, will be denied asylum and will be considered for removal from the UK.

With the passage of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, the maximum sentence for facilitating a breach of immigration law, or “facilitation”, was raised to life in prison. Small boats pilots fall into this category of offender so aggravated cases, where there is an elevated level of harm and / or culpability identified, will likely receive a sentence in excess of 12 months. In cases where there is insufficient evidence to secure a facilitation charge, it is highly likely that a prosecution for illegal arrival will be sought. Similarly, in higher-end cases, the sentence for this will also likely be over 12 months on conviction.

We do not provide a running commentary on discussions with our overseas partners.

Seized and frozen assets relating to Organised Immigration Crime, Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery for the financial years requested is available. These would include much of the seized assets in relation to people smuggling across the Channel.

As the Rt Hon Member will be aware, the recently introduced Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill proposes a new offence relating to the supply of articles for use in Organised Immigration Crime, through which we will seek to clamp down on the activities to which his question refers. In respect of charges and convictions in pervious years where these activities were a factor, this data is not held centrally.

The information requested is set out in the below table:

The Home Office publishes statistics on the number of detected irregular arrivals to the UK across four routes of entry in the ‘Immigration System Statistics quarterly release’.

Data on inadequately documented air arrivals, recorded detections at UK ports and recorded detections in the UK, alongside small boat arrivals and can be found in Irr_01 of the ‘Irregular migration summary tables’. This data covers the period 2018 to September 2024.

Data covering the period of October to December 2024 is due to be published on 27^th February 2025.

Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

A total of 138 people are known to have died since August 2019 as a result of attempting to cross the Channel by small boat.

Almost all of these fatalities have occurred in French territorial waters, and the records of these held by the Home Office are primarily from information shared by the French authorities. The numbers of fatalities known to have occurred in the past three calendar years are as follows:

2022 – 4

2023 – 12

2024 – 78

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on age disputes for all individuals with asylum claims raised and resolved is published in table Asy_D05 of the ‘Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’.

Home Office Ministers and officials are in regular communication with a wide range of international partner countries working together to tackle organised immigration crime.

Home Office Ministers and officials are in regular communication with a wide range of international partner countries working together to tackle organised immigration crime.

Information on Fee Waiver outcomes is published as part of the Migration Transparency statistics; however it is not possible to disaggregate Fee Waivers granted to irregular migrants from the data. The Migration Transparency data can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data

Data is not held on whether individuals receiving refunds are regular or irregular migrants. The IHS refund is linked to the outcome of an application, rather than the status of a migrant.

Information on Fee Waiver outcomes is published as part of the Migration Transparency statistics; however it is not possible to disaggregate Fee Waivers granted to irregular migrants from the data. The Migration Transparency data can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data

Data is not held on whether individuals receiving refunds are regular or irregular migrants. The IHS refund is linked to the outcome of an application, rather than the status of a migrant.

By its very nature, it is not possible to know the exact size of the illegal population, or the number of people who arrive illegally, and so the Home Office does not seek to make any official estimates of the illegal population. In June 2019, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published a note on ‘measuring illegal migration’.

The Home Office does publish statistics on detected irregular arrivals to the UK as part of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK’ quarterly statistics release. However, this does not indicate the number of irregular migrants currently in the UK.

DfT ministers and officials engage with the Home Office on this matter. The Department sits on the cross-government ministerial Taskforce on Immigration Enforcement, which ensures that every available power across government is utilised to support law enforcement activity to identify and reduce illegal migrants in the UK, and ensures only those eligible can work, receive benefits or access public services. The Department and its agencies continue to support the Home Office on the wider issue of illegal working in the UK.

The Home Office publishes statistics on detected irregular arrivals to the UK in the ‘Irregular migration to the UK statistics’ release on gov.uk.

Data on people who have arrived in the UK as ‘Inadequately documented air arrivals’ are included in table Irr_01 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed datasets’, with the latest data up to the end of September 2023.

The Home Office does not publish the requested data in any further breakdowns.

Published data held by the Ministry of Justice shows that no landlords were prosecuted in relation to renting properties to individuals without the right to reside in the country in the last 5 years under the following offences in the Immigration Act 2016, and consequently there have been no convictions in criminal courts.

This act covers the following relevant offences:

1. Landlord of premises occupied under residential tenancy agreement by adult disqualified due to immigration status
2. Responsible landlord allows post-grant contravention in relation to residential tenancy agreement
3. Agent responsible for post-grant contravention in relation to residential tenancy agreement

Any cases heard at court as a result of prosecutions under the above offences are criminal offences. However, landlords can also be pursued via the civil jurisdiction, with Home Office holding the ability to hand down penalty notices as appropriate in individual cases.

The Home Office does not comment on port specific information for security reasons.

The latest published figures on Irregular Migration to the UK can be found at the following link: Irregular migration to the UK, year ending September 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The information requested is not available in a reportable format.

There were no uncontrolled landings in 2023.

All people making these illegal, dangerous and unnecessary crossings of the Channel by small boat in 2023 were detected before reaching the UK and were placed under immigration control immediately upon arrival.

The Home Office publishes statistics on detected irregular arrivals to the UK in the ‘Irregular migration to the UK statistics’ release on gov.uk.

Data on people who have arrived in the UK on larger vessels and in a vehicle on a ferry are included in the ‘Recorded detections at UK ports’ figures on table Irr_01 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed datasets’, with the latest data up to the end of September 2023.

The Home Office does not publish the requested data in any further breakdowns.

The French authorities provide the Home Office with regular operational updates, including estimates of the number of people who have been prevented from crossing to the UK.

Home Office records show that in 2022, around 33,000 crossing attempts (defined as an individual person attempting to cross the Channel by small boat) were prevented and returned to France. This compares with around 26,000 in 2023.

The decline in numbers of crossings prevented in 2023 relative to 2022 reflects the 30% decline in overall attempts made in 2023 relative to 2022.

The Home Office publishes statistics on small boat arrivals to the UK in the ‘Irregular migration to the UK statistics’ release. Data on small boat arrivals is published in table Irr_D01 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed datasets’, where the data can be broken down by year, sex and age group. The latest data goes up to the end of June 2023.

Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. Data up to the end of September 2023 will be published on 23 November 2023.

The Home Office publishes data on numbers of returns in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on returns are published in table Ret_D01 of the ‘Returns detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to end March 2023.

Provisional data on returns up to the end of August 2023 are also published in table IMB_05 of the ‘Statistics relating to the Illegal Migration Act data tables’.

Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

The information requested can be found in tab CP03 of Immigration Enforcement data: Q2 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Please note the figures shown in the data are for penalties levied at the initial decision stage, which may be cancelled at the objection or appeal stage.

The number of people arriving in the UK who require accommodation has reached record levels and has put our asylum system under incredible strain.

We have been clear that the use of hotels to house asylum seekers is unacceptable. There are currently more than 51,000 asylum seekers in hotels costing the UK taxpayer over £6 million a day.

The Home Office is making every effort to reduce our reliance on hotels through alternative forms of accommodation to limit the burden on the taxpayer.

As per standard practice, audited costs for the large accommodation sites will be published through the Home Office annual reports and accounts.

To reduce hotel use, asylum seekers will routinely share rooms with at least one person where appropriate. This will minimise the impact on communities while we stand up alternative sites.

The NCA does not hold information on the percentages of online content promoting illegal migrant Channel crossings appearing social media platforms.

The Government works closely with social media companies in the UK to target and remove Organised Immigration Crime related content online. Since September 2021, 3,400 posts, pages or accounts advertising organised immigration crime services have been removed from a range of social media platforms.

My right hon. Friend makes an excellent point. That is why one of this Government’s five priorities and promises to the British people is indeed to stop the boats. We will introduce new legislation that makes it unequivocally clear that if you arrive in this country illegally, you will not be to stay, and we will swiftly detain you and remove you to your own country or a safe third alternative. That is the right and responsible way to tackle this problem.

The Migration and Economic Development Partnership between the UK and Rwanda is uncapped and is expected to last for at least five years.

Information regarding the number of failed asylum seekers still living in the UK can be found on tables ASY03 and RCM02 of the most recently published immigration and protection transparency data:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-and-protection-data-q4-2021

We will do everything we can to stop these crossings and make this route unviable.

The danger to life from Channel crossings and the criminality behind it are simply unacceptable.

These journeys are often illegally-facilitated and are totally unnecessary; France and other EU countries are safe with fully functioning asylum systems.

The UK and France jointly investigate criminal groups engaged in these crossings, sharing intelligence and prosecuting cases on both sides of the Channel. The Joint Intelligence Cell, founded in July 2020 and resourced by both UK and French staff, is central to those efforts, enabling the sharing of information between UK and French law enforcement

In 2020, we arrested 113 individuals and secured 56 convictions for facilitation related to small boats resulted in sentencing of over 29 years. A further 35 disruptions were recorded against gangs and individuals engaged in organised immigration crime related to small boats

In June 2019, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published a note on ‘measuring illegal migration’.

By its very nature, it is not possible to know the exact size of the illegal population and so we do not seek to make any official estimates of the illegal population. The Government is focused on making it harder for people to enter and live in the UK illegally whilst ensuring those who have the right to reside in the UK can do so. Exit checks introduced in April 2015 will, over time provide more detailed insights into the behaviour of migrants and how they comply with the restrictions placed upon their length of stay in the UK, but the data obtained does not provide the total number of illegal migrants currently in the UK.

Section 31 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 sets out the defences available to a refugee if charged with certain offences connected to entering the UK, and is in accordance with the United Kingdom’s obligations under the Refugee Convention.

The Home Secretary has been clear that she will explore all options to review the UK immigration system in order to deter people from making dangerous journeys such as crossing the Channel, and promptly return those who have no right to be in the UK.

The UK and Italy have a regular dialogue on migration and last met in February 2020. The UK and Malta signed a bilateral MoU on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking in December 2018, and a UK-Malta Migration dialogue took place on 27 July led by the UK's Migration and Modern Slavery Envoy.

The UK Government has a comprehensive whole-of-route approach to global migration, working in countries of origin and transit to address the drivers of migration, reduce the need of migrants to leave their home country or to enable migrants to stay in a safe third country where possible. This whole of route approach is the only way to achieve long-term and sustainable reductions in irregular migration.

To support the facilitation of removing those individuals with no right to remain in the UK, the UK has formal returns or readmission agreements with the following countries:

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, China, Georgia, Hong Kong, Iraq, Macau, Macedonia, Malaysia, Moldova, Montenegro, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Somalia, South Korea, South Sudan, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and Vietnam.

There are also formal returns arrangements for third-country nationals to other European countries through the Dublin Regulations.

To all other countries to which returns are enforced, the Home Office utilises informal bilateral processes.

The Home Office publishes data on the number of asylum seekers transferred under the Dublin regulation in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’ (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release). Data on the number of asylum seekers transferred out of the UK under the Dublin Regulation, broken down by the EU member state they have been transferred to are published in tables Dub_D01 of the asylum and resettlement detailed datasets (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets). Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to the year ending December 2019.

Please note, that we do not publish the breakdowns of the nationality of those being transferred under the Dublin Regulation

Additionally, the Home Office publishes a high-level overview of the data in the ‘summary tables’ (attached). The ‘contents’ sheet contains an overview of all available data on asylum and resettlement.

Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’ (https://www.gov.uk/search/research-and-statistics?keywords=immigration&content_store_document_type=upcoming_statistics&organisations%5B%5D=home-office&order=relevance).

Full guidance on Dublin III Regulation was published on 30/04/2020 and can be found via the link below: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/882400/Dublin-III-regulation-v3.0ext.pdf

Information regarding how many inadmissible decisions (Article 13.1 and Article 13.2) based on the concept of safe third country, first country of asylum and which designated safe third country those decisions relate to is not recorded or held in a reportable format.

Full guidance on which asylum claims must be treated as inadmissible was published in October 2019 and can be found via the link below:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/835342/Inadmissibility-guidance-v4.0ext.pdf

The Home Office publishes quarterly figures on the number of asylum seekers housed in dispersed accommodation, by local authority, in the Immigration Statistics release, https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#asylum-support.

Breakdowns of asylum claims by method of arrival or type of claim are not routinely published.